Second Debate: Clinton v. Trump

I appreciated a number of things about this debate, but most importantly, I appreciated the fact that I could live stream the debate from my phone. I was able to finish up some ironing for the week, while I watched this entertaining debacle. I also appreciated the fact that this was a Town Hall debate. This type of debate allows for a range of different questions, as seen tonight. Viewers were able to watch the nominees answer and avoid questions. Lastly, I appreciated Karl Backer, the man who asked the last question that prompted each candidate to say something that they appreciated about each other. The political climate this cycle has been extremely hostile, so this was a nice change, however brief.

Topics

Hillary Clinton

(Democratic Candidate)

Donald Trump

(Republican Candidate)

Sexual Assault

Your campaign is exploding.

“But I think it’s clear to anyone who heard it that it represents exactly who he is. Because we’ve seen this throughout the campaign. We have seen him insult women. We’ve seen him rate women on their appearance, ranking them from one to ten. We’ve seen him embarrass women on TV and on Twitter. We saw him after the first debate spend nearly a week denigrating a former Miss Universe in the harshest, most personal terms.

So, yes, this is who Donald Trump is.”

Initially he apologized, but then he attempted to justify his comments by labeling it as “Locker Room Talk,” and “Just words.” He then diverted the conversation to ISIS

Trump’s latest led comments prompted many to think: Would Barack Obama have been to get this far if he had said half of the things Trump has?

Supreme Court Justice – Criteria (As a law student, this was one of the most important questions of the night)

“Someone who actually understands what people are up against.” She cited voting rights for people of color, Roe v. Wade, and marriage Equality

She also criticized the Senate for being derelict in their duty to vote for President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, to replace Justice Scalia

Trump failed to list any criterion, but he basically wants the reincarnate of Scalia

Trump has a list of 20 potential candidates who have been “very beautifully reviewed by just about everybody”

Response to the armed conflict in Syria (I am conducting my research on this conflict so this question was also of particular interest to me)

Arm the Kurds –The moderators then prompted H.Clinton to respond with a strategy that the Obama Administration wasn’t already considering

“There are children suffering in this catastrophic war, largely, I believe, because of Russian aggression. And we need to do our part. We by no means are carrying anywhere near the load that Europe and others are. But we will have vetting that is as tough as it needs to be from our professionals, our intelligence experts and others.”

Trump threw his Vice Presidential nominee under the bus when he stated that they had not discussed Syria and he disagrees with Pence’s decision –(Solid team I say)

He also demonstrated that he still is incompetent in foreign policy. He stated “Assad is killing ISIS, Russia is killing ISIS, Iran is killing ISIS,” however Assad and ISIS have steered clear of militants in Syria.

Moderator, Martha Raddatz also schooled Trump on psychological warfare, as being the reason why our military has a practice of announcing that an attack on a city is imminent. Trump avoided answering the question of his strategy to combat rebels in this country some more, and chose to list generals who endorsed him in this area instead.

Funniest moments

Yea, this seriously happened

Clinton said it’s “awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law of our country.”

“I’m a gentleman” (Response to allowing H. Clinton to answer a question first)

He also likened H. Clinton to the Devil (The Waterboy anyone? lol)

Trump responded, “because you’d be in jail.”

“Fact Check This”

Check H.Clinton’s website

Too many to list

Invoke a former President Card

George Washington – H. Clinton used this President to cite the fact that we have had Muslims and even successful Muslims in this country since the time of George Washington

Abraham Lincoln – “Well, right. As I recall, that was something I said about Abraham Lincoln after having seen the wonderful Steven Spielberg movie called “Lincoln.” It was a master class watching President Lincoln get the Congress to approve the 13th Amendment. It was principled, and it was strategic.

Bill Clinton – Used this President to counterattack about his transgressions against women. He even brought 4 of Clinton’s accusers to the debate

Abraham Lincoln – “Honest Abe never lied. That’s the good thing. That’s the big difference between Abraham Lincoln and you (H. Clinton). That’s a big, big difference. We’re talking about some difference.”

Barack Obama- Well, by now we know Trump’s feelings on President Obama

Deleted E-mails v. Tax Records

Once against apologized for using a private e-mail account

Alleged that Trump’s taxes could reveal an alliance between Trump and Russian President, Vladimir Putin

Admitted to avoiding taxes:

Did you use that $916 million loss to avoid paying personal federal income taxes for years?

“Of course I do. Of course I do. And so do all of her donors, or most of her donors. I know many of her donors. Her donors took massive tax write-offs.”

Trump stated he would appoint a Special Prosecutor to put Hillary in Jail (Note: This type of statement is typical in a tyrannical regime)

Trump responded by saying he had no investments in Russia nor any loans from Russia

H. Clinton Acid-washed her e-mails and bleached them (What’s the difference?)

Dividedness

H. Clinton regrets calling Trump supporters “Deplorable”

“I was sorry about the way I talked about that, because my argument is not with his supporters. It’s with him and with the hateful and divisive campaign that he has run, and the inciting of violence at his rallies, and the very brutal kinds of comments about not just women, but all Americans, all kinds of Americans.”

Reneged on all of his previous comments against African Americans, Hispanics, and Muslims and said that he would be a great President for all of the groups

“Also, the Second Amendment, which is totally under siege by people like Hillary Clinton. They’ll respect the Second Amendment and what it stands for, what it represents. So important to me.”

Moderators (For the most part they were able to control the candidates by calling on them to keep their responses under 10 minutes and )

Was given slightly more time to respond, but arguably Trump could have used the time he was complaining to actually respond…

Trump felt the moderators were unfair to him because “they allowed Hillary to have more time to respond”

Health Care

“So let’s fix what’s broken about it, but let’s not throw it away and give it all back to the insurance companies and the drug companies. That’s not going to work.”

“Health care is going up by numbers that are astronomical… You will have the finest health care plan there is… It is a disastrous plan, and it has to be repealed and replaced.”

Last Question: “Regardless of the current rhetoric, would either of you name one positive thing that you respect in one another?”

(Thank you to the man who asked this question. You were able to get the nominees to finally shake hands!)

“His children are incredibly able and devoted, and I think that says a lot about Donald. I don’t agree with nearly anything else he says or does, but I do respect that. And I think that is something that as a mother and a grandmother is very important to me.”

“She doesn’t quit. She doesn’t give up. I respect that. I tell it like it is. She’s a fighter. I disagree with much of what she’s fighting for. I do disagree with her judgment in many cases…And I consider that to be a very good trait.”

Who won?

Clinton. She actually responded to the questions that were asked, and she did not resort to name calling. She demonstrated that she has the temperament characteristic of a President. She used personal anecdotes to illustrate her points, such as her work at The Children’s Defense Fund directly out of law school.

Trump’s performance improved tremendously from the last debate, but he failed to answer critical questions. He interrupted his opponent and the moderators, and referred to H. Clinton as “the devil.” He also used vague terms to describe his strategies, including astronomical” and “bad” (bad people, bad judgment, so bad). His apology for his vulgar comments against women were insincere, and further, he attempted to justify his comments as “just words” and “locker room talk.” Trump, you were 69 (a little too old for the locker room), and married at the time.

Questions I still had after the debate:

Can we keep Martha Raddatz and Anderson Cooper as the moderators for the last debate…please? They were able to get a good handle on the candidates, although Raddatz may have overstepped her boundaries when she interjected into the debate question on Syria

Does Trump know anything about the Constitution i.e. Senators cannot unilaterally make decisions?

Was that a mechanical fly? (lol)

Is Trump aware that other racial groups other than “the African Americans” make up the inner city population?

Could H.Clinton’s compliment on Trump’s children have been interpreted in any other way, but a compliment?

Did Trump have the sniffles?

The Final Debate is on Tuesday, October 18th
Last day to register to vote is TOMORROW, October 11th